Vivian La

Activist Corniki Bornds stands outside a crime victim assistance event on July 31, 2023, in response to a weekend mass shooting in the North Lawndale neighborhood that left one woman dead and another 8 injured.

‘I wish I could say it was something new:’ Police, activists step in to assist in city’s latest mass shooting in North Lawndale

July 31, 2023 at 11:42 p.m.

At a corner in North Lawndale, the familiar tune of an ice cream truck rang out as it drove past crowds of community leaders and advocates who wanted to create...

Dive recovery teams searched for a victim from an overnight boat crash on Lake Michigan near the "Playpen," July 28, 2023.

Northwest Side woman killed, 6 others injured after boat capsizes in Lake Michigan’s ‘Playpen’

July 29, 2023 at 7:50 p.m.

A 20-year-old woman died after a boat capsized near Navy Pier early Friday morning. The boat was returning to shore around 2:40 a.m. when it possibly struck a breakwater, injuring...

Children play in the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park in the Loop on July 28, 2023, in Chicago.

Chicago weather: Gusty storms with tornado potential move through area Friday night

July 29, 2023 at 12:39 a.m.

Powerful thunderstorms with potentially damaging winds were expected to move through the weather-fatigued Chicago area Friday evening following a day of stifling heat as temperatures soared into the high 90s,...

A bottle of Malört at Reggies on the Near South Side on July 21, 2023.

Which Chicago bars sell the most Malört? Top spots spill secrets on slinging that ‘taste from home’

July 31, 2023 at 11:51 p.m.

Malört has been testing Chicagoans' creative limits for decades, with descriptions becoming more foul as the drink gets more popular. The bitter wormwood-based Swedish schnapps has been compared to baby...

A Chicago police officer works a crime scene where a UPS driver was shot in the 700 block of North Trumbull Avenue in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on July 25, 2023.

Activists denounce violence against essential workers after UPS driver shot in Humboldt Park

July 28, 2023 at 12:58 a.m.

Two days after a UPS driver was shot in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, activists, social service workers and community members gathered under the blistering summer sun Thursday to denounce gun...

Chicago firefighters work the scene of an ammonia leak near 59th Street and Hamlin Avenue on July 27, 2022, in Chicago.

Chicago Fire Department responds to ammonia gas leak near Midway

July 27, 2023 at 4:08 p.m.

The Chicago Fire Department's hazmat team responded to an ammonia gas leak at Home City Ice in the West Elsdon neighborhood Thursday morning, fire officials said. The area's air quality...

A jogger runs near Montrose Beach in the Uptown neighborhood during a warm and humid day on July 26, 2023. Parts of the area were under a severe thunderstorm warning as a storm system moved east through northern Illinois, according to weather officials.

Chicago prepares for excessive heat: ‘Take it seriously’

July 26, 2023 at 11:21 p.m.

Hot and humid weather is forecast for the Chicago metro area Thursday and Friday, creating dangerous conditions for older adults and vulnerable populations, officials said. A heat advisory that was...

Lightning in downtown Chicago strikes the 875 N. Michigan Ave. building on July 26, 2023.

Strong thunderstorms move through Chicago Wednesday

July 26, 2023 at 5:50 p.m.

Parts of Chicago were under a severe thunderstorm warning Wednesday morning as a storm system moved east through northern Illinois, according to weather officials. Northwestern Cook County was issued a...

Pedestrians use a crosswalk in the 5100 block of North Broadway in Chicago on July 26, 2023. A vehicle recently struck and killed a woman in the crosswalk.

Woman killed in Uptown hit-and-run, police say

July 26, 2023 at 8:34 p.m.

Police are searching for the driver of a fatal hit-and-run in Uptown that killed a 69-year-old woman. The woman, identified as Sofya Athamanah by the Cook County medical examiner's office,...

Karen Bigg, a harm reductionist for the Chicago Recovery Alliance, grabs items for drug use to give to a man living in a homeless encampment in Humboldt Park on July 25, 2023, in Chicago. Bigg said she parks a mobile outreach van at the corner of North California and West North avenues on Tuesdays from about 5-7 p.m. and usually sees between five and 15 people requesting drug use-related items. The organization offers sterilized products for drug users free-of-charge, including Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, for drug overdoses.

Cook County records deadliest year for opioid overdoses in 2022

July 28, 2023 at 8:02 p.m.

Cook County recorded the deadliest year for opioid overdoses in 2022, according to the medical examiner's office, a record that's unsurprising to advocates and public health officials who said this...

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